


Driftwood

by DoomsdayFairy



Series: transcendence au [3]
Category: Gravity Falls, transcendence au (gravity falls)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Child Death, Demon Deals, Gen, I'm so sorry, Intrusive Thoughts, Soul crushing sadness, drift!au, siblings being separated, summoning demons, this is not a happy funtime, trigger warning suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-03-21 08:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13737285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomsdayFairy/pseuds/DoomsdayFairy
Summary: August 31st, 2012, was the day when everything changed. One demon died, another one was born, and for the first time in centuries the world once again became acutely aware of the existence of magic.Mabel Pines assumes that her brother died on that day......she has no idea how wrong she is!(Drift!AU)





	1. Beginning

Someone was screaming. A loud, piercing scream that tore through the woods and the small clearing currently serving as the battle ground for what was hopefully going to be the final fight against the demon Bill Cipher.  


Dipper was laying on the ground, crying and curled up in fetal position. This wasn’t at all how things were supposed to turn out. Dipper was just supposed to summon Bill into the clearing, using the binding circle that grunkle Ford had showed to him days earlier to trap the demon in place, say some simple spells and then it would be over! It was supposed to be _easy, _it was supposed to _work _, it was…____  


...It occurred to Dipper that he was the one screaming. Oh well, could you blame him? This had all gone so wrong. Bill wasn’t supposed to survive the attack, wasn’t supposed to break his own bindings, and in a last ditch effort Dipper had aimed one last spell at the demon, desperate to do something, _anything, _to stop him!__  


And now he was screaming. Screaming, screaming, _screaming _. And he was in so much pain. Possession hadn´t hurt this much last time, so why now? It felt as if something was trying to tear its way into him. Something big, ancient, and completely alien was trying to fuse with his very being, and his body was screaming in protest. It felt like he was being torn apart, and forcefully added onto, both at the same time, like every individual atom he had was suddenly attempting to break free from his body and fly away, and it _hurt _!__  
__

Dipper screamed again, tears streaming down his face as he laid there on the ground. He didn’t know how long it was until the pain finally faded away and was replaced by a sudden wave of tiredness. He fought to keep his eyes open but it was no use as blackness was already beginning to fill his field of vision.  


And still something felt wrong. The pain had left him, but there was still something else making him feel odd. It felt like he was missing something, something that was probably important, and it had been replaced with something completely different, and it made him feel weird. He felt incomplete, and too complete, both at the same time. He was both too much and too little, and he was tired. Dipper didn’t have time to think any more than that, before the blackness swallowed him up completely. 

__

_____ _

_____ _

____

*

How long he had laid there unconscious on the ground, Dipper couldn’t tell, although it felt like hours had probably passed by the time he finally woke up. Dipper opened his eyes blearily and let out a loud moan. His body felt sore all over, he felt nauseated and full as if he´d just eaten a way to large meal, and it took an embarrassingly large amount of effort to pull himself up into a sitting position, his head spinning and vision blurring as he did. Once he could finally see clear again, Dipper carefully looked around the clearing. He was sitting in a large crater, he realized. A crater that had definitely _not _been there before.__  


Dipper wondered what could have possibly happened here after he passed out, and then it hit him. His _spell _! His last minute spell must´ve actually worked! Dipper immediately felt a wave of happiness and relief wash over him! He did it, he _killed _Bill Cipher!____  


Cautiously he picked himself up of the ground. If his spell could make a crater like this, then it had most likely been noticed from town, and if it had, then his family was probably worried sick about him!  
Stumbling forward Dipper slowly began to walk in the direction of the town and the mystery shack, determined to get there before people started drawing the wrong conclusions regarding his whereabouts. 

_____ _

Despite being in a hurry though, it took Dipper almost an hour to finally reach the mystery shack. But once the house came into view, he started sprinting towards it! Never before had he been so happy to see that rickety old building. He could already imagine how relived his relatives would be the moment he would burst through the door. The enormous hug he would no doubt receive from his sister (he was looking forward to it), how proud his great uncles would be of him, how good it would feel to be back home, and _safe _, and…__  


…he ran head first into a wall. At least it felt like he ran into a wall, because when Dipper looked, there was nothing there. Curious, as well as a little bit alarmed, he slowly reached out his hand to touch whatever that was in front of him. And sure enough, he felt his hand brush against something solid.  


“What the…?” Dipper wondered out loud. What was this? The shack hadn´t had any invisible walls before, had it? Well, there was the unicorn hair barrier of course, but Dipper had passed through that one before no problem. Maybe it something else that his uncle had put up after he left, something to add a little extra protection to the house. Yes, that had to be it! Dipper took a deep breath, if his uncle had put this up, surely his uncle knew how to take I down, all Dipper had to do would be-  


“GRUNKLE FOOOORD!”  


–to yell for his attention. “GRUNKLE FORD IT´S ME! CAN YOU OPEN THE BARRIER?” no answer “GRUNKLE FORD OPEN THE BARRIER IT´S ME, DIPPER!” surely Ford must´ve heard him this time, and yet, no response came from within the building.  


Okay, so maybe they weren´t here then. Dipper tried to think of where else his family might have gone, but came up with nothing. Frustrated, he turned around to start heading into town and search for someone else to help him, and the moment he did, he was greeted with the sight of his great uncle Stan slowly coming down the road towards the building. Feeling both happy and relieved, Dipper ran up to great him, expecting his uncle to do the same. Instead Stan barely reacted, he just kept walking forward, glassy looking eyes staring straight ahead of him. He seemed tired, Dipper thought, tired and worn out.  


Dipper kept running forward, intending to break his uncles trance with a giant surprise-hug, (pride be damned, Dipper had had his big reunion hug delayed long enough now).  
Getting closer, Dipper spread out his arms and prepared himself to jump into his uncles arms, he took a big leap towards Stan, only to tumble to ground behind him. Dipper blinked in surprise, and Stan just kept walking as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn´t noticed his nephew launching at him at top speed, almost as if Dipper had just passed right…through…him.  


Oh no!  


N _o no no _! That couldn´t be right, This couldn´t be happening, Dipper couldn´t be _dead _! He just couldn´t!  
____

********

Okay, so he had felt a massive amount of pain and blacked out, and he did wake up in a literal _crater _but still, this couldn´t be right! But it was the only logical explanation that Dipper could think of, and with that thought came a whole other realization, he was _stuck _! He was dead but he hadn´t moved on like he was supposed to. He was still there and… he was alone.  
____

___It was then that Dipper discovered that, contrary to popular beliefs, it turns out ghosts could, in fact, cry._ _ _

****_____ _ ** **

****_____ _ ** **

*

His feet felt way to heavy to walk with. Stan wasn´t even sure why he bothered to search anymore, since he knew that his searching would turn up nothing (that was a lie, Stan knew exactly why he did it. Just like he knew that when he got home he would once again be met with the tear streaked face of his great-niece, asking how the search went, remaining hopeful even though Stan could clearly see the light draining from her eyes more and more each day as her uncle came back empty handed.) Stan let out a heavy sigh as he continued walking down the long gravel road leading towards his home. It seemed to be getting colder outside, judging by the sudden chill that suddenly passed through him. He´d have to get inside soon, unless he wanted his joints to start acting up.  


He knew that he should probably still be out there looking, that he shouldn´t be giving up so quickly. Stanley Pines was, if nothing else, incredibly stubborn.  


Stan sighed again, say what you want, stubbornness alone sure wasn´t gonna bring back his nephew. Stan hoped beyond all reasoning that Dipper would turn up okay, or at the very least alive. If he didn´t well…  


…Stan didn´t even want to think about it. Letting out one last big sigh, Stan finally made his way onto the front porch of the house. He took a short moment to compose himself before reaching for, and twisting the door knob. He would be back out again tomorrow, Stan decided as he stepped into the building, and he _would _find his nephew!  
He had to.__


	2. What we are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mabel and her parents struggle with their loss, and Dipper discovers something he would have rather not known about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for lots of intrusive thoughts and deep discussions of child death in this chapter.

Beeing a ghost, as it turned out, was really not at all what it was cracked up to be. Sure there was the floating, the occasional bursts of flame from his hands, and of course, the complete invisibility to everyone around him. However, aside from all of that (or maybe because of it, who knew?) Dipper found this new state of afterlife to actually be kind of boring. He couldn't touch anything, couldn't talk to any of his family or friends (and oh, didn't that hurt? To see the look of horror on their faces as the news of his violent death reached them. To watch as Mabel had cried herself to sleep and not be able to hold her. To see the way his great uncle Ford had retreated down to his basement, no doubt blaming himself for what happened to his nephew. To see the mystery shack staying closed day after day as none of it's employees were able to put themselves together enough to come in to work.

And still he had that feeling of _something_ inside of him. It had been there all week, ever since the battle with Bill, and it still felt just as weird and uncomfortable as the first time he'd felt it. 

Dipper sighed, he was currently sitting crosslegged in the air, trying to watch the TV in Soos' livingroom (stupid barrier around the shack, still keeping him out. Not that it really mattered, Mabel had already gone home about a week ago but still). He was hoping that the television would be able to distract him for a while, but it seemed like he wasn't able to concentrate very well with all the thoughts currently running through his head. Why was he still there? Shouldn't he have moved on by now? Was he gonna be stuck like this forever? 

The feeling of something had grown more powerful now, and it was starting to get accompanied by a throbbing feeling in Dipper's head. 

Oh joy, he wasn't physical anymore, but apparentely he could still get headaches! Dipper let out a frustrated groan, but still did his best to ignore the feeling and focus on the TV. 

It seemed like they were playing the news right now. The image of a blonde woman holding a microphone filled the image, with a text saying NEW REPORTS OF STRANGE CREATURE SIGHTINGS ALL ACROSS THE STATES rolling across the lower half of the screen in bright red letters. 

Wait, what? That couldn't be right. Dipper leaned in closer to the screen and tried to focus on what was being said by the reporter 

“… reports floading in from the entire country. At the moment there seemes to be no good explanation for where all these creatures might be coming from, though scientists have come out and shared with us some strange recordings which are said to have occurred shortly before the first confirmed sighting. The signals were recorded somewhere in the state of Oregon though the exact location have not yet been disclosed. The matter is currently being investigated closer by the FBI, in the meantime citizens are encouraged to stay inside and if you have to venture outside, to always travel in groups. We are…” 

Dipper blinked in surprise. What creature sightings? What was going on? They had mentionned Oregon, so maybe this had something to do with Bill? But Bill's plans had failed. Dipper stopped him, and besides, the bubble around Gravity Falls should've made it impossible for the demon to effect the outside world. 

A sudden painful stab in his head interupted his trail of thoughts. Dipper groaned and shut his eyes, in the background, he could still hear the TV making noice, but he couldn't hear what was being said anymore. All he heard were distant whispers, but they were to faint to hear properly. At least not yet, because the volume of the voices seemed to be rising, and so did the pressure in his head. Dipper suddenly became acutely aware of that feeling of something again, feeling as though something was starting to boil inside of him. He could hear the voices more clear now, and he slowly realized that whatever they were, they were definatley not coming from the TV! It sounded like they were coming from everywhere around him, and the something kept bubbling inside of him, causing his hands to start trembeling and giving him the sudden urge to run away, like he should flee from whatever was currently happening inside of him. 

He could finally make out words now, but unfortunately they still didn't make much sense. 

_Dead..._

__

__

_Not gone…_

__

__

__

_tr͘ansfor͝me̵d͜..̛._

Dipper screamed and shook his head violently. It was to much, to many sensations all coming at him at once. He couldn't handle it, he wanted it to stop, stop, _stop!_

And then suddenly, there was another feeling as well. Like something was pulling at him, as if some invisible force was trying to drag him away. Dipper did his best to fight back against it, but with everything happening so suddenly and all at once it was hard to focus. Feeling one last particulary strong tug, Dipper let out a weak whimper, before whatever it was finally managed to drag him away. 

* 

Send the kids to Gravity Falls they had said. 

It will be good for them, they had said. 

Anna Pines was furious. Well, she had the right to be. Her little boy, Stan had promised to take good care of him, and now he was… he was… 

…Anna couldn't even say it. She knew that she would have to, eventually. It wouldn't be long until it was time to send her children (child) back to school, and they'd want an explanation. And then there were all the issues regarding the funeral, they didn't have anything to bury (all search parties had turned up nothing), but her baby still deserved to have one… 

Oh God, her baby! Her sweet child, he was supposed to have come home a week ago. They were supposed to have celebrated the kids' birthday, Anna had already bought presents! Now half of those presents would forever sit untouched, waiting for an owner that would never come and open them. 

Okay so maybe it wasn't fury that she was feeling. If anything it was more like crushing sadness and- while it was easier to just keep blaming Stan Anna still knew she would have to confront the feeling soner or later -guilt. 

She knew she should have kept him home, shouldn't have sent him away, or at the very least she should have come too. She should have been there, should have protected him. She'd failed him, abandoned her child when he needed her the most. 

And now he was gone, and with him, a part of her as well. But still, she couldn't let that show, because her daughter still needed her, now more than ever. And so, Anna tried her best to put on a brave face, and went out to face the world. 

A world that now felt far to empty. 

* 

A tangible nervousness filled the room as Eric finally lit the last of the candles. 

After the events which took place about a week ago, work had been… hectic, to say the least. The citizens of the states were panicking, and rightfully so all things considered, and while Eric and his collegues did their best to controll the situation as good as they were able to, it was obvious that whatever false sense of controll they had manged to make it seem like they had over things, wouldn't last long. Something would have to be done, fast. Which was exactly why The States' department for supernatural surveillance (SDFSS) were all currently gathered in this remote warehouse in southern California, about to do what they had all sworn upon being employed into the unit that they would never do. 

Eric took a step back and admired his work. The circle wasn't to bad for someone who used to sleep during art class, and the candles had been lit almost completely without knocking anything over. All in all, it looked pretty neat and proffessional. Looking around at his collegues, he could see them all nodding in approval, good, time to begin then. 

His collegue Amanda took a step forward nervousely and began to read from the tablet in her hands in a shaky voice, 

´´Triangulum, entangulum. Veneforis dominus ventium. Veneforis venetisarium! 

Egassem sdrawkcab, 

egassem sdrawkcab, 

egassem sdrawkcab, 

egassem sdrawkcab, 

egassem sdrawkcab! ´´ 

The people gathered around the circle all held their breaths in anticipation. At first nothing happened, then suddenly, there was a flash of bright blinding light that forced Eric and the others to look away for a split second, and when they looked back there was a demon in the circle. 

At least, Eric thought it was a demon. It didn't look very demonic, if anything it looked more like a human child. That in and of itself was weird, the most unerving part of it though, at least to Eric, was the fact that it wasn't really doing anything. It just sat there, cluthing its head and letting out a high pitched whining noise. Eric spoke up, doing his best to stick to the prepeard script they had all agreed with, 

´´Bill Cipher I assume? Greetings, we are with the United States government. We wish to make a deal with you.´´ 

The demon didn't even acknowledge him, it just kept on whining, 

´´We whish to obtain knowledge concerning the sudden outbreak of supernatural activity, including how we can fix the situation. In return we are willing to pay up too 70 000 dollars in either cash or credit, whichever you may prefer.´´ 

The demon looked up from the circle, fixing his eyes on Eric. The man gulped nervousely, taking a step forward and reaching out his hand, never once breaking eye contact with the being in front of him, 

´´So, do we have a deal?´´ 

* 

Sometime after his son's death, Mark had completely stopped functioning. Every morning he had called in sick to work and he spent all his days laying in bed either sleeping, or scrolling endlessly through social media feeds on his laptop. 

He knew that he should have probably been feeling something, heck, he _whished_ that he could have felt something! Grief, anger, anything would have been better than the pure emptiness that seemed to fill his mind. Emptiness and a complete lack of ability to do practicaly anything. His wife, bless her, had had to bring in his food to the bedroom, occationally reminding him to go shower or at the very least go to the bathroom. Mark really didn't see the point to it though, it wasn't like any of that stuff mattered in comparison to all of the things that were currently going on in the pines' lives. He knew that he would eventually have to drag himself out of bed and get back to his normal life, but right now it just all seemed so pointless. 

Uncle Stanford (Stanley? Whatever) had apologized profusely of course. Mark wasn't sure what exactly his wife had said to him, but what ever it was it couldn't have been pretty. She was right to be angry of course, and to some extent Mark agreed with her, when you send away both your children for the summer you should get both your children back damn it! But Mark also knew his son. He knew exactly what Dipper was like (had been like), that kid had always been prone to getting himself into trouble. 

Mark sighed, he sincerily hoped that where ever Dipper was now, he was at least happy. It was not as if he was coming back anyway, no matter how much his family cried and whailed for him. 

Perhaps that was what made it feel so pointless? Knowing that whever Mark did, his son wouldn’t be coming back. 

Ever. 

* 

__

_de͜a͟d҉_

__  


__

_c͡h̡anged͢_

__  


__

_i͏ņhum̡a̶n҉_

__  


_mo͞nste͢r̶_

Dipper kept his eyes squeezed shut and cried out in desparation as the voices raged on inside his head. It almost felt as if they were trying to tell him something, if only they hadn't been so loud and intrusive. 

_̶m̡e͜r͟ge͞d ͡tog͞e͜the̴r_

__

_spo͝i̧l͡e̡d p͘l̴ans͜ ̸_

__

__

_tra͠ns̷ce͝n̛ded̢ ̶_

__

_d͡emon͝_

´´…whichever you may prefer.´´

Someone was talking to him, Dipper realized. Not just the voices in his head, but an actual person. 

Dipper snapped his head up and looked at the person in front of him. The man seemed to be in his late thirties, with brown hair and light skin. He took a step forward, reaching out his hand thowards Dipper, 

´´So, do we have a deal?´´ 

Dipper studied the hand for a second, voices in his head still screaming, 

__

_de̵mo͝n͜_

__

__

__

_dę̸͟m̨͢ơn̕͘͠ ͟͟_

__

__

_ḑ̶̷̵e̛̛͢͝m̕͜͝͞o͜͏̷n͟҉ ̨͟͞͏͝_

_d̢̕e̢͠͡҉m̶̛o̧͘͡n͠͡ ͘_

_d̢͢͜ȩ̛m̶͜͢o̷̸͜͜n͏̢҉̛ ͘͟_

…So that's how it was huh. That's what the voices were telling him. Still, they just kept going and Dipper wanted nothing more but for them to stop, 

_d͜͡e̶̢m̵̸̧͡͠ǫ͞n̴̵͜͡͡ ͘͟͟͝_

__

_d҉̵e̵̢m̷͡͏o̢n̸͞ ͟_

__

__

_d̴͡e̶̴̸͟҉m̷͟o̶͘͠͏͢n̴͜ ҉̴̴̧͜’_

_d̡̕͜e͏̶͜m̢̢o̧n̴̷̢ ͏͟͞_

The hand in front of him was so tempting. And in a brief and sudden moment of clarity, Dipper knew exactly what he should do. The man wanted knowledge, Dipper wasn't exactly sure how he knew that, he just did. He focused on the feeling inside of him, tried to imagine it as a physical force, imagining the voices as belonging to actual people. Slowly, he reached out for the mans hand, taking it in a firm grip, and then… 

…he pushed the voices away. Letting them flow from himself and into the person in front of him through their joined hands. The human screamed and yanked his hand away. He fell to his knees, clutching his head and letting out shrieks of terror as the onslaught of knowledge teared its way into his brain and ate away at his sanity, while his terrified friends all scrambled for the exit. 

Dipper didn't really care at first. He was to busy reveling in the feeling of finally having his mind feel clear again. It wasn't until the man in front of him finally stopped screaming, and Dipper looked down at the now unconsious human laying at his feet, that what he'd just done finally sunk in. 

Body trembling, Dipper opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly closed it again. Looking down at the person on the ground in front of him made him feel sick to his stomach, not so much because of the scene before him (Dipper actually felt strangely proud of that) but because of the implications that it carried. That man had tried to summon a demon, he'd gotten a demon. Perhaps not the one he had asked for, but the one now in posession of his power _(merged together, transformed, demon)_. Dipper was a demon. 

Dipper was a demon and… 

… He had absolutely no idea what to do now. 

* 

Mabel wasn't Mabel anymore. She should have been, she knew, she thought she had all the necessery parts for it, arms and legs and everything but... 

… there was something missing. There shouldn't be anything missing. There shouldn't be anything wrong. But something was wrong, and something _was_ missing! Mabel had never really payed much attention to it before, sure she knew that the bond she and Dipper shared was special in a way that most sibling bonds weren't, but to her it had always felt natural. Like that was just how things were supposed to be. She was Mabel, the cute and charming one, and he was Dipper, the smart and dorky one. They had been two halves of a whole, now though… 

… Now there was suddenly only one half. And it would never get to feel whole again. It would have to support itself now, do its own homework, finish its own sentences, cry in its own arms late at night when it felt like the whole world had turned against it. Mabel had always thought that she and Dipper had always just been supporting eachother, but that wasn't true. They had _completed_ eachother! 

But now she was incomplete. 

And in that sense, Mabel wasn't really Mabel anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the person who posted on tumblr a while back about Alcor beeing summoned during an info dump. I've actually been wanting to write something based of that suggestion for a while now, and this was very fun!
> 
> The summoning chant was taken from the Gravity Falls wikia.
> 
>  
> 
> Zalgo:   
> dead  
> changed  
> inhuman  
> monster  
> merged together  
> spoiled plans  
> transcended   
> demon  
> demon  
> (seriously the rest is literally just the word demon repeated over and over again)


	3. Coping methods... or lack thereof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pines family attempts to cope with their current situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for a somewhat graphic suicide attempt in Dipper's part.

It was about three weeks after her brother's death that Mabel's parents decided that their daughter should see a therapist.

At first, Mabel had been less than happy about the idea. After all, she'd seen the movies, she knew what therapists were like and she did _not_ want that kind of creep poking around in her brain thank you very much! However her parents had insisted, and after her first session Mabel had to admit that she was positively surprised. Miss Jones- no Emilia, she said Mabel could call her Emilia- had been very nice and understanding the whole time, and that session had soon been followed by several more. It wasn't long until Mabel felt comfortable enough with Emilia to be able to tell her pretty much everything. 

They talked about school, about all the magic that was suddenly everywhere, talked about Gravity Falls and what role Mabel had played in fighting Bill Cipher. Mabel shared her memories from the summer, her worries about how much her life was changing, her nightmares, and much more. 

They talked about Dipper a lot, too. Of course they talked about Dipper. Of what kind of person he had been, what his interests were, his most noticeable personality traits, what his and Mabel's relationship had been like, how fun they'd had together, how awful it felt now that he was gone. They made plans on how to get through the funeral, which by now was only about a week away. Mabel cried a lot, but at the end of every session she still felt a little bit better than when she'd first came there. 

Sure, it wasn't an instant magical cure to her sadness. She still cried herself to sleep every night, and she still woke up sweating from nightmares, but it was something. It still helped a lot, even if Mabel might not have wanted to admit it to her parents (sure they were right, but Mabel still had her pride). 

So she coped the best she could whit Emilia’s help, and at least she now knew that her sadness wasn't the end of the world. She would keep living. 

For both her own and Dipper's sake, she would keep living. 

* 

This was all his fault. Ford should have never trusted that damned demon. He should have never built that portal, and he certainly should not have been brought back from it. He should have been kept far away where he could take care of Bill alone, without interference from anyone, from Stanley, or the kids, or… 

Ford sighed, the kids, not a single day or night went by without Ford cursing himself for allowing the kids to get so close to him. His brother had been right, Stanford Pines was to dangerous to be let near children. But Stanford Pines had also been feeling awfully lonely. 30 years adrift across different dimensions would do that to you. So when he met his great niece and nephew for the first time and saw how eager they both were to get to know him, reminding him so much of himself and his brother all those year back, facing the world looking for adventure with the same sense of curiosity and wonder well… 

…how could he not immediately love them? How could he not allow his old traitorous heart to open up just the slightest bit just to let them in? 

Well, look at where that had gotten them? Dipper was dead, Mabel had been sent home heartbroken, and Stanley was not talking to him. Honestly, Ford had been a fool to think that he deserved to even be in their presence in the first place. The dangerous man who's actions had brought the near end upon the world did certainly not deserve such love and praise as his nibblings had tried to give him. No, the only thing Stanford Pines deserved was to sit right here, locked deep underground in his basement. Here he could sit, alone, and contemplate the consequences of his actions. 

From what he had heard, the whole world was magic now! And oh how Ford itched to get out and explore it. Just thinking of all the wonders there must be to explore out there filled his body with a sense of wonder and excitement that he had not felt since first arriving in Gravity Falls over 30 years ago. 

Ford sighed again, that might actually be the best course of action for the old man to take. Get out, get away, explore! Stanley could keep the house, and no one would have to deal with their grief while having the cause of it sitting directly under their feet. Yes, maybe that would be for the best. After all, if there was one thing that Ford was good at, it was to travel. He might even be able to help humanity by researching this strange new world they had found themselves in. Yes, Stanford Pines would travel, and he would travel _alone_! 

* 

The summoning from the government about two weeks ago had turned out to only be the beginning. Apparently it was now public knowledge just who Bill Cipher had been and what he had tried to do (his parents had explained it, on national television none the less, something about their sons great sacrifice not being forgotten so yeah, guess he was a public figure now), but that just meant that everyone now knew about the fact that demons were real. Which meant that everyone and their _mom_ suddenly wanted to try their hands at demon summoning, and since Bill was currently the only demon that the public knew about well… 

…they used his circle. Of course they used his circle. And Dipper was dealing with it and trying to adjust to his new life the best he could, he really was! It was just that this was turning out to a way bigger adjustment then Dipper had been prepared for, and honestly, he was inexperienced with being a demon and he had _NO IDEA_ how he was supposed learn everything that he needed to know alone. 

He wished gruncle Ford was there. Or mom! Dipper was sure that she would have found a way to fix this! Mom being there would have made everything okay again. But mom wasn't there, and things were not okay! 

Dipper, who was currently floating around in what he had soon realized must be the mindscape, felt a big fat ugly tear roll down across his cheek. He'd been crying a lot lately, as soon as he got a moment alone in fact. It was just to much, everything was to much and he was tired. Dipper couldn't do this anymore, he just couldn't. He wanted everything to just go away! To just disappear from the world and not have to deal with this anymore! Dipper didn't want to live like this, couldn't stand the thought of living his entire life the way he had been living these last two weeks! Dipper sincerely whished that he hadn't turned into a demon. No, he should have just died. Death would have been a much kinder fate than the one he had gotten. 

Dipper cried. He just wanted to end this. Slowly, and without realizing it at first, the boy shakily raised his hands up and began to scratch at his throat. At first he felt hesitant, but the motions quickly grew and became more rapid. If he could just break his skin, then this would all be over, if only he could tear himself open and let his life spill out, then everything would be fine! But this stupid new body of his refused to comply! Dipper got more and more frustrated! He could feel his hands changing, finger becoming longer and nails growing sharper as he kept on desperately clawing at his throat, but even that turned out fruitless, as every time his new claws finally broke through the skin, his body just healed itself again! 

Eventually Dipper grew weak and tired, and he was left to accept the fact that he would most likely not be leaving this world of his own accord any time soon. 

God this was such a nightmare! Dipper slowly slumped down to the ground and tucked his knees up close to his chest. He really didn't want be a demon. He really didn´t want to be alone like this. 

He kept crying. 

The claws stayed. 

* 

Smile. 

Your employees haven’t come to work in weeks. They're to distressed to work. 

Smile. 

Your brother doesn't talk to you. He's locked himself in the basement and is refusing to come out. 

Smile wider. 

Talk to the townsfolk. They all have questions of course. 

Is your niece okay? You whish you knew, you're not allowed to talk to her. 

Is this magic thing permanent? You have no idea. 

What are you going to do now? What indeed. 

It was, of course, a well established fact that Stanley Pines was a great actor. Though most people would probably never realize just how far that acting went. A lot of people had commented on how well he seemed to be keeping it together, but in truth, Stan was feeling just as lost and confused as everyone else was right now. Sure, he might be able to hide it in public and seemingly go about his day as normal. And sure, he might sound confident and unfazed when he spoke to the townsfolk, but truth was that during all of this Stanley had had his fair share of mental breakdowns as well. They all just happened at home, in the dead of night, far away from any prying eyes. 

To the public Stan had to be strong. For the sake of everyone, including himself. They all needed someone to lean on, someone who knew more about what had been going on before all this and might be able to provide more answers, and with Mabel back at home and Ford locked in his basement well, that left Stan alone to be that someone. Thankfully, he was such a good actor, otherwise he would have never been able to step up and take on that role. But now his pretend confidence and authority seemed to be able to install some sense of calmness and control in everyone else, which was a good thing. 

Stan might not have been able to save his nephew, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't do his absolute best to save his town! 

Now all he had to do was: 

smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this was really sad, wasn't it? For those of you who skipped Dipper's part, he has claws now. Just so you all know. And don't worry, I promise that the next chapter will be happier :)


	4. A new acquaintance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dipper gets to feel a little less lonely, and some fan favorite characters makes their first appearance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (see the notes at the end for zalgo transcriptions)

For centuries now they had served the same master. They had reveled in his triumphs and laughed at the defeat of his enemies. They stood patiently and obediently by his side as he planned and plotted for the day when the world would reform in his image. They did the dirty work they were asked, cleaned up when his plans were spoiled, took the blow of his tantrums, which more often than not led to a significant decrease in their numbers.

And yet they stayed loyal to the master. Despite fearing for their lives in his presence. For when the master was not angry, he was their ticket to safety. Indeed, lower beings such as them could never have survived long on their own, and because of that, they were grateful to the master for taking them under his wings. Their master was strong. Stronger than any of his kind, and because of that, as long as they were by his side, nothing could pose any threat to them.

So imagine their surprise and horror when their master suddenly perished. Not after a great glorious fight with a fellow demon, but by the hands of a weak and insignificant human boy! 

Well… used to be human at least 

´´W̴hat҉ wil͞l ̵w̶e ͢d͜o?͢´´ whispered one

´´ St͝a̢y͘ str̴ong. ͟I̧t wi̕l͟͏l ͏b̡e ḩa̵͞rd, ͠b̧̛ut we͟ w͡i̡l̵l no͏̨ ̵d̕ou͟bt ͘s̨ư͜r͏vi͞v̨͘e e͝v͟en w̶͠ithou̴͜t ͝͏a͢ ma͠st͘e͞r.´´ answered another 

´´ You fo͢ǫl͠s!͝´´said a third ´´ W͢e s̸ti͡ll have͢ a̡ ma͢s̶te̷r. ̢L̡et͢ u͘s go to̴ hi̢m a͞t̶ o͘nce.̷´´

Despite their sister’s words though, they still hesitated. For what could a human-turned-demon possibly be like? Would he be cruel like their old master? Perhaps even crueler? But even still, their pull towards him was to strong to ignore. And after a while they all mutually decided that at long last, it was time to make their presence known. 

* 

_Whyyyyy_ did people have to be so _stupid_. This had been the _third_ person in just a couple of days who had summoned Dipper as a result of playing truth-or-dare, and the _fifth_ to summon him while drunk. _Drunk!_ Seriously, how little self preservation could a person have! Dipper didn’t even want to answer any summonings, and dealing with people like this most definitely wasn’t making his situation any better.

Having just arrived back into the mindscape, Dipper let out a loud groan of annoyance. He wondered briefly if other demons usually dealt with shit like this to, and if so, what they would do about it? It sure would help a lot if he’d had someone that he could ask about this stuff, but if there was one thing his short acquaintance with gruncle Ford had taught him, it was that demons did _not_ make good friends, let alone good teachers. Maybe he should try to invoke that feeling of something again. After all, that _was_ how he first learned about his demon hood, maybe another wave of knowledge would be able to tell him something about how he should handle all of this. But no, last time had not exactly been a nice experience, and Dipper really didn’t want to go through that again.

As if on que a small headache started to rise in his head. Panicked, Dipper shut his eyes and tried to will away the feeling. Thankfully, this time, it seemed to work as the feeling faded and vanished quickly.

Dipper opened his eyes and was just about to breathe out in relief, only to let out a loud horrified scream as he was met with the surprising sight of something pressed up closely against his face! Body shaking, Dipper quickly crawled backwards away from whatever that was in front of him, until he could feel his back suddenly pressed up against something. Slowly Dipper raised his head to look up, only to come face to face with- _oh god another one!_

´´Ma͜st̨er! We’v̕e ͞come ̕t̴o -´´ Dipper screamed again, the sound of the creatures voice was terrifying beyond belief, and it’s appearance, a swirling mass of energy that somehow had teeth, wasn’t much better. 

´´P-please don’t eat me´´ Dipper managed to stutter out ´´I haven’t showered in like, weeks!´´ 

The creatures stood silent for a moment, but then one of them spoke up 

´´Aŗe y̸o͏u͏...̴ No̷t̶ p̡lea̶sed to͟ ̶see u̕s?´´ 

´´Of ͜cour̨se͏ h͘e̡´s҉ ̛not ̨you͞ ni̶nc͟o͠mpoop͞!͢´´ the other one answered ´´Loo҉k at his̢ a͜u̢r͘a!͏ ̕Yo͝u̴´re͝ ͜sc͏ar҉ing ͞h͠im̡!̷ ´´ 

´´I th͡ink͜ ҉that͞ _W̧E͏_ are sc͢a͜r͞i̸n̛g̡ him.´´ said a third one and _oh shit where had that one come from how many of them were there?_

´´fuck,͡ ̢wh̶a͠t shǫu̶ld we ̨d͢o ̸t͞h̸e͞n?´´ 

´´I͞ don’t k̵n͢ow̛!̛ Th͡is͟ was̢ ̴ _you̢r_ ̧i͏de̷a̵!´´ 

´´Ar̵e you say͏in͘g͜ t̨h͠a̵t̶ ̕we sho̷ul̶dn’t ͏ha̧ve͢ cơme҉ here?̛ B̴ut ̶h͟e’s̴ o̴u̕r̡ ma͏s͡te̸r!͘ ͏´´ 

´´T͟h͢a̛t͞’s no̷t̶ what͢ ͝I ̴me̵a͡nt ͠a͠n̴d yo̧u ̨k͟now͢ it!͟´´ 

´´O͝h?͏ Wha̛ţ did̸ you ̛m̴ean̷ ̨then?͜ B͏e͞c҉a̵u͟se͞ it̡ sou̶nds͠ l̢i͟ke-̨ ´´ 

´´ _GUYS!_ ͘´´ the third creature made a some kind of odd gesture towards Dipper and oh shit now they were all looking at him again! What was he gonna do, what was he gonna do, _what was he gonna do?_

´´Ḑo̧es̶ h̡e.̷..͞ ̴do̸es̷ ͟h̶e ͡f̵eęl͡ t͟hrea͟t̵en̡e̕d by̢ ͜us͡?̛´´ 

´´I..͢.I̸ thi̡n҉ķ s̷o͞,̶ m̧ay̷be,͟ it ͘c̴ou̷l͠d҉ j̸us̶t ̶be ̛yo͜u͘r̡ u̢g̶l͢y f̸ace.͝´´ 

´´N͟o̡, ͜the ͜pr̢o̸b̧l͞em͘ i̶s def͞in̸it͢el͘y̕ w̧i͘th͏ ͢al̡l of us. ̸C͜om̡e͢ on ͢gu̷ys̵, think a͡ little, w̧h͢at͠ d͜o h̶u̴m̧a҉ns ͘fi͘nd͜ no͠n̕ ͏t̴hr͝e̡aten̢i̶n͠g? ͜´´ 

´´O̶h̴ ̢oh͏ I ̴ķn͜ow! ̵Wh̡at̨ ̵a͏b̵ou͜t ҉tho̶se uh, t̵hose͡ t͏hįn̢gs̛ you̧ ͞eat ̶with͡? ҉Th͝e͢ ̷r͞o͝u͡n̕d o͠nes! ̛ ̕ ̢´´ 

´´I am ̸NOT͏ ̡tur͟nin͢g i̛nt͘o͏ a ̛fuc͟k͠in̵g̶ ͢ki̧tchen͜ ̧t͝oo̵l! ̴´´ 

´´Ok fine!͢ H̡ǫw͜ ͠ąbo͢ut͠ ͠flo̢we̢rs̸ t̡h̷e̶n͜? T͜hey’r̶e pre͜t͢t͠y. ͝´´ 

´´No ͠fuc̕k̴ing͟ w͟ay!̵´´ 

´´O̸h I̴ kno͜w! Ho͜w͝ ͠abo͜u̕t th̨os̛e,͞ yo̡u k͞no͞w̡,̢ , ̶̢ _baa-a̴̶a͏a̷̕͜-a̛a̢͢͢!̢̡͜_ ´´ 

´´Ye͡s ye͝s! _Baa-aa̧-a̧_ i͠s ̕g̸oo̧d, I ̴can҉ do͡ a _ba-aa̵a͜a!_ ´´ 

The creature in front of Dipper started shifting, it’s form slowly changing from the swirling mass of color it had been before into a… a _sheep?_ Yes Dipper thought, as the other creatures followed suit, they really did look like they were trying to resemble a flock of sheep. Trying, because unlike normal sheep, these sheep had claws, and sharp fangs, and Dipper was pretty sure that that one had at least 20-something eyeballs!

´´You are… not going to eat me?´´ Dipper asked cautiously, 

´´Of c͝our҉se͏ not͢! Why͜ wou̡l̡d we wąn͢t̵ t͝o ̸e̶at̴ ͜ǫur m̶ast̷e̛r̛?´´ 

´´C͏o̡ưl̶d w͞e ͟e͢at ou̧r ̴m͞as͜ter͠? ̧I͝ mea͢n, ̧he’s a͞ d̴e͡mo̢n a̡n̨d w̶e´͝re just-´´ 

´´Sh̕u͠t ͘u͟p͠!´´ 

´´-̧so̴rry̨.͏´´ 

´´Your… master?´´ Dipper looked around confused. They couldn’t possibly mean… could they? ´´Are you… talking about _me?_ ´´ 

´´.͠.̶.͏Yes. ̴´´ 

´´We̛ are̕ ̶s̛o͝r̨ry̡ a͢b̢o̴ut ̢o̸ur ͠prȩvi̶o̴u͟s ̴a̧bs̴ȩn̷ce!̶ ͝ ´´ another one of the sheeps hurridely said after Dipper didn’t comment ´´W̕e w͜ere s҉i͏m̛p͏ly͝ ͢c͡onfus͜ed by͠ y̸o̧ur ͞suddȩn arrival!̕ A͡f͟ter ͏you ̧t͞o̕ok ͘our̢ ol̕d ̡maste҉r̸s pow͠e͞rs... we d̸i̧dn͢´͜t ̨ev̵e͡n̕ k͘no̵w t̸ha͘t ͞it ͞was͟ ̕p҉ơss̛i̡ble͟ fo̢r ̸a hu̵man̵.͟.͢. B͟ut ̕we͏’re h͟e̛re ̨no̷w͠!̛ ´´ 

´´Stole your old masters…?´´ Dipper gasped loudly as the realization hit him ´´You mean you used to work for _Bill?!_ ´´ 

The sheep nodded 

´´But, I killed him… why are you… why did you come to me?´´ 

The sheep all looked at each other, sharing a nervous glance before the one he had just been talking to turned it’s head back to Dipper 

´´We͞... ̨w̵e͢ ͢ar̡e b̛ou͟nd̶ tǫ our m̨a͢st͞e̷r̴ t͞h̕ro̵ug̛h̸ h̴i҉s p̶o̸we͏r. ͡Ju̕st̴ ͞l͏ik͠e ̕eve̶ry̢ ̷other ̷ni̶ģhtma̵re wh͡o̢ ̢sȩrv͢es a͢ de͘mon̡,͠ an̷d i͞f ano̴t̶h̕e͜r͠ de͘m͠o̡n͠ t̨ake̕s͘ ͜our̴ maste̕rs p͘owe̢r-͠´´ 

´´ _Oh!_ So if the power that binds you is transferred into another being, like me, then you have to serve them instead! Alright, gotcha!´´ 

´´ ..͠.Ye͏s̨, tha̡t ͞i͞s it e̛x̨a̴ctly. ̨We̷ are̕ ̨co̕m̵p҉l̛e̡tly͞ ̢lo͢y͘al to ̢you̧ ͞n͡ow, ̴a̡ņd͟ y̢ou ar̷e f͝r͘ee͏ to̶ d͞o w͠it͢h͏ u̧s as you ̨p̶le͝ase̸.´´ 

Wow, okay that was… actually pretty exiting. Now that all the panic was gone and he knew that he wasn’t in any danger, all that Dipper could suddenly seem to think about was the level of authority and power that he suddenly held over these beings. He could make them do anything, and they would have no choice but to obey! He was their master, their owner, and they were his… his… 

´´Did you say that you guys were… nightmares?´´ 

´´y͏es͝?̷´´´ 

´´Like, the dream kind? The ones you have at night?´´ 

´´…y͡es?´´ 

´´Right, okay.´´ Dipper stood still for a moment, just trying to take it all in. This was so cool, and so weird, and… a little overwhelming actually now that he thought about and all the new power he had suddenly gained was making him all happy and excited like a little kid and- 

-stop that trail of thoughts right there! That sounded an awfully lot like something _Bill_ would have said. And suddenly, it didn’t seem very fun anymore. If anything, it felt more as if somebody had just poured a bucket full of ice water down Dipper’s back. 

´´So umm…´´ He coughed awkwardly, raising his hand up to scratch at the back of his head ´´What… What are your names?´´ these weren’t mere possessions, they were living(?) beings damn it! 

The sheep all looked at him and at each other in apparent confusion 

´´…N̸a̵m͠e͢s͟ ̡m̴ast̴e̶r͢?´´ 

´´Yeah, my names is Dipper. What should I call each of you?´´ 

The sheep all looked around at each other, whispering excitedly amongst themselves as they did 

´´G͜uy͡s͘, ̴h͏e's g̷o̵nna͝ ̢le҉t͟ ̴u̸s̛ hąve ̴na̶mes!´´ 

´´Yes ͏w͡e̶ ̕hear̨d̛!͝ ̡´´ 

´´H͟o̷w͜ ͞e͞xit̸i̶ng! ̵I͠v’e ne͢v͜e͟r had a nam̡e͝ ̷befor̵e gu̷ys!´´ 

´´A̢nd͏ just̛ ͝h҉ow͟ man̕y̡ ma̷şt͜e͡r͏s ̧h͟ave y̴oư h̵ad befo̕re?´´ 

´´.̢.͘.̛P̕o̷in̨t ͜tak̢e͘n͢,̢ bu͜t͞ s̕ti͝ll!͝ ̛´´ 

´´So, a͘r͡e̵ ̕we̛ ͏gonna ̢g͏e͡t̨ ̷o̴ur ̵nam̡es̷ as͏s͏ig͠n͟ed ̶t͘o ̸us?̧´´ the sheep turned thowards Dipper again ´´I͢s t̨hat̛ ҉wh̨a͏t̵'̸s goin͠g to̡ h̵app͢e̡n͘?̵ I͡’m ̨as͟sum̧ing th̡iş ̕i̕s͞ so̷methi̡ng t̕hat̷ ̢y͝ou͞ wou͝ld wa̢nt to con͘trol͏ ͘m͏as͡t͢e̴r̸?´´ 

´´I don’t know, I mean… You can pick whatever you want I guess…´´ Dipper thought about it for a moment, and then he added ´´But no profanities please.´´ 

The sheep once again huddled together and started whispering amongst themselves, before they turned to faced Dipper again, 

´´Th͢a̷t of th͟e̸e͞th͝´´ 

´´Lo̢l͞o͢nja͞´´ 

´´Groknąr the ͢Dest̸r̕o͞yer´´ 

They each proudly announced with a big grins plasterd on to their faces 

´´Alright! Nice to meet you That of theeth, and Lolonja, and Groknar the destroyer!´´ 

´´Li̸kewise̷,̕ ̵ma̷s̕ter͡.´´ Lolonja said with a nod. For a few seconds they all just stood there, demon and nightmares, smiling brightly at each other. And for the first time in weeks, Dipper felt happy, maybe he wouldn’t have to go through this alone after all. 

´´Oo̕o ͏th͟is is̡ gre͡a͞t! A͡n͏d ju̷st͜ ̵w̧a̛i̴t͜ unti͜l y͏oư ̧m͡ee̸t ̴th̕e͝ oţh͝e҉r͟s̴!̢´´ 

´´Wait, _others!?_ ´´

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zalgo:  
> ´´What will we do?´´  
> ´´ Stay strong. It will ͏be hard, but we will no͏ doubt survive even without a master.´´  
> ´´ You fools!´´  
> ´´ We still have a master. Let us go to him at once.´´  
> ´´Master! We’ve come to´´  
> ´´Are you͏... Not pleased to see us?´´  
> ´´Of course͏ he’s not you nincompoop´´  
> ´´Look at his aura!͏ ̕You’re scaring him̡! ´´  
> ´´I think that WE͏ are scaring him´´  
> ´´fuck, what should we do then?´´  
> ´´I don’t know! This was your idea!´´  
> ´´Are you saying that we shouldn’t ͏have come here? But he’s our master! ͏´´  
> ´´That’s not what I meant and you know it!´´  
> ´´Oh?͏ What did you mean then? Because it sounds like- ´´  
> ´´GUYS! ͘´´   
> ´´Does he... does he feel threatened by̢ us?´´  
> ´´I…I think so, maybe, it could just be your ugly face.´´  
> ´´No, the problem is definitely with͏ all of us. Come on guys, think a little, what do humans find non ͏threatening?´´  
> ´´Oh oh͏ I know! What about those uh, those things you eat with? The round ones! ´´  
> ´´I am NOT turning into͏ a fucking kitchen tool!´´  
> ´´Ok fine! How about flowers then? They’re pretty.´´  
> ´´No fucking way!´´  
> ´´Oh I know! How about those, you know, baa-aaa-aa!´´  
> ´´Yes yes! Baa-aa-a is good, I can do a ba-aaaa!´´  
> ´´Of course͏ not! Why would we want to eat our master?´´  
> ´´Could we eat our master? I mean he’s a demon and we’re just-´´  
> ´´Shut up!´´  
> ´´-sorry.͏´´  
> ´´...Yes´´  
> ´´We are sorry about our previous absence!´´  
> ´´We were simply confused by your sudden arrival! After ͏you took our old masters powers... we didn’t even know that it was possible for a human... But we’re here now!´´  
> ´´We... we are bound to our master through his power. Just like every other nightmare who serves a demon, and if another demon takes our masters power-´´  
> ´´ …Yes, that is it exactly. We are completely loyal to you now, and you are free͏ to do with us as you please.´´  
> ´´yes?´´  
> ´´…yes?´´  
> ´´…Names master?´´  
> ´´Guys, he’s gonna let us have names!´´  
> ´´Yes ͏we heard!´´  
> ´´How exiting! I’ve never had a name before guys!´´  
> ´´And͏ just how many masters have you had before?´´  
> ´´...Point taken, but still!´´  
> ´´So, are we ͏gonna get our names assigned to us´´  
> ´´Is that what's going to happen? I'm assuming this is something that you would want to control͏ master?´´  
> ´´That of teeth´´  
> ´´Lolonja´´  
> ´´Groknar the Destroyer´´  
> ´´Likewise master´´  
> ´´Ooo ͏this is great! And just wait until you meet the others!´´


	5. Moving forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the time for grieving has finally come, Stan comes to an important realization, and Dipper attempts to take his new job seriously!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who has commented on this fic in the past, I'm not very good at answering but I promise that I read them and I really appreciate the support. Thanks to you I managed to motivate myself enough to beat my writers block and finish this chapter! Hold on to your hats, because the story is all downhill from here :)

´´…told him that if he ever stopped being my friend I would throw myself in a bottomless pit which, honestly, doesn’t sound like a very bad idea right now. I mean I… we didn’t even know each other for that long but… fuck this really sucks!´´

Anna watched, quietly, as the red headed girl attempted to finish her speech while obviously struggling to hold back tears. She had to admit that she was impressed with how well the girl had held it together so far. Personally, the presence of her daughter besides her was the only thing stopping Anna from completely breaking down herself. Mabel on the other hand was sobbing uncontrollably, only stopping occasionally to wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. On a normal day Anna would have lectured her to use a napkin instead of her clothes, but right now that would probably be inappropriate. Besides, it wasn’t like Mabel was the only one, the whole room was filled with people who were all crying quite loudly.

It had come as a surprise just how many people had shown up to the funeral. The Pines had only expected close friends and family, maybe a few teachers from school, but had instead been met with _almost_ _the entire population of Gravity falls._ It was… weird, to say the least, to witness all these people who were complete strangers to her and Mark come and speak about their son like he was an old friend. Weird, but also a little bit touching. Okay, more than a little. Dipper had never really had a lot of friends to speak of at home, no matter how hard he tried to impress people, so to know that her son had finally managed to find people with whom he could fit in felt… good. At least now Anna knew that his last summer had been a good one.

The girl who had been speaking before was finished now, slowly walking back to her seat and collapsing in the arms of the big man whom Anna assumed to be her father. Another young girl quickly stepped forward and started pulling notecards out of her black handbag

´´Dipper and I..´´ she began, before taking a moment to compose herself and continue ´´Dipper and I we… never got along well. My family and I, we do not usually associate with people of the-´´ the girl let out a cough ´´- _middle class,_ but even my parents have admitted that he… he really came through every time we needed him, and even more than that, he came through when _I_ needed him. He comforted me when I felt low, he agreed to help when I asked, even though he didn’t have to… I mean, we weren’t even friends but…´´ the girl suddenly got quieter and glanced shyly at the floor ´´I think I would have liked it if we were.´´ the girl lifted her head again and cleared her throat loudly, looking just a little embarrassed ´´Of course, my family and I will do everything that we can to honor his memory. So in recognition of all that he’s done for us we would like to propose building a monument in the…´´ Anna just drowned out the rest of the speech, she didn’t really want to hear any more. She couldn’t stand hearing people talk about her baby like this when he wasn’t there with her. Eventually the other girl also stepped down, and yet another townsperson- a big Hispanic looking man wearing a black t-shirt and a cap- came up and took her place as the next speaker.

This time, Anna couldn’t manage to hold back her tears.

 

*

 

Smiling turned out to be way harder than Stan had originally thought. Not _only_ were all of his employees currently away attending a funeral that Stan wasn’t invited to, but business was currently _CRAP!_  

Stan had thought for sure that, once the government had stopped urging people to stay inside and hide all the damned time that business would be blooming. After all, the world was magic now, and that meant that people were thirsty for knowledge about that supernatural. Tourists should be flocking around  the building right now begging for Stan to give them answers like those living in town had all done in the beginning, but no, the parking lot was currently empty and the gift shop was completely void of people.

Stan walked tiredly over to the window and peeked out, hoping against all odds that he would spot someone, _anyone,_ coming his way but nope! Still nothing, except for what looked like some kind of pixie casually flying across the parking lot. Stan sighed, he’d gotten pretty used to seeing sights like that lately, after all, the world _was_ magic now.

And maybe that was the problem. Nobody came to the mystery shack anymore because Stan had nothing special to show them. Why pay to come look at fakes when you could see the real thing by just peeking out the window? Stan hadn’t wanted to admit it at first but… if he wanted to keep making money, he might have to change his business model.

And he should probably hurry up!

 

*

 

´´Okay okay! But what about _The Destructor_? Doesn’t that sound like a badass demon name?´´

´´If t͜h̴at's ͠wh҉a̕t fe͟e͘l̴s r̷ig̕h̵t̷ to͜ yo͟ư m͝aste҉r.͏..´´

´´Wow, you guys aren’t even _trying_ to help, are you?´´    

´´ Yes!̵ ͠Y͜es of cour̶se ͟w̢e ͢ar̕e! W͜e-´´

´´-But all you do is nod your head and say yes to everything I say! Come on, I can’t create a scary image on my own! I need some outside perspective guys!´´   

´´… D̨o yo͞u̵ re̷all͟y͢ wa̕nt ̶t̶o k͟n͢o̶w w̸hat͘ w̢e ̕th͢i̶n̨k҉?͏´´

´´Yes.´´

´´ O͡k̢ay ̢w͠ell̢… ̶m͘a̴yb̴e̡ ‘͞t҉h̡e҉ destruc̴to͘r̕’͏, is ̶a͡ li̸tt͞le͠…yo̡u ͘k̕now͝…´´

´´It’s bad isn’t it.´´ the sheep all looked amongst each other for a moment before turning back to Dipper, making various sounds of agreement. ´´Ugh, this is _impossible!_ ´´ Dipper groaned while burying his face in his hands. Looking out from between his fingers he noticed several of the sheep, almost all seven of them, flinching and taking a few steps back, but right now he couldn’t really be bothered to care. He’d hoped that they would be able to help him figure out his whole ‘demon persona’ thing with him. After all, if Dipper wanted to establish himself in this strange new world that he’d suddenly become part of, it might be a good idea to put some work into his public image. Unfortunately though that meant that there were a whole lot of stuff left for him to suddenly figure out, like coming up with a new name for himself, hence the current brainstorming session.

´´May͡ I s̶ugģes͟t so̴methi͡ng?̧´´ Lolonja asked cautiously

´´Yes.´´

´´Wh̷y d̡on’t̡ ̛yo̡u tr̸y̕ ̢to ͠t͡ake a̢ ̛step ba̢ck͠ an͠d ref̕l̷e̕c̵t upo͜n ̛w͠h͏at yo͠u w̨a͜nt̸ ̶you͠r̶ n͜ame̛ ͜t̛o mea͘n̨ ͡ţo̴ y͏ou?̢ S͢o͢ far̕ a͝l̶l ̴o̸f͝ y̸ou͝r ̶su̢ģg̨e̴st͘ions ͘h͢av̕e be̷en̢ ̛b̨ase͟d on̷ t̕r̵y̡i̕n̸g҉ t̕o͏ ̧so̢u̶nd ‘cool’ a̢nd ‘ba̶dass̷’,͡ ̡b͜ut͟ ͘I w͟onde͘r ͢i͢f͟ t͠hose̕ ̴tw̡o qu͏alit͏ie͟s ̸ar̢e ҉r͞eall͜y͏ th̵a̡t͞ i̢m͟p̨or͢tąnt to͜ ̵yo̶u, ҉or̸ if̴ there ҉might p͜e͡rhap͠s͠ ͟be s̕om͡et̶h̨ing el͝s҉e tha̢t ͠y̧ou would͠ r̡at̢he̡r͞ l͜e͠t yo͡ur̸ n̛a̕m͝e r͝efl̶ec̴t. S̴o̷m̶ethi͘ng ͜t͞ha͡t͜’s mor҉e ̶ _y̵ou_.̶´̵´͏

´´…go on.´´

´´Whe͜n̢ ͝wę f̡ir҉st meţ you, y͏ou̷ ̴in͠trod͜uc̸ed̨ y͝o͠u̕rs̡elf as̸ D̶i҉p͘p͝er͞. ͢What̢ is ̕it ̕th̕a̵t͠ m҉a҉ke͞s͝ y͡ơu l͢i̵k͘ę th͞at҉ na͢m͞e ̸so mu͠ch͘? W̢h̶y does̶ i͡t r͟esona͠te͠ so de̵e͡ply͠ ͞with҉ yo͡u̕?´´ Dipper slowly removed his hands from his face and thought for a moment. She was right, why was he _Dipper?_ It wasn’t even his real name, so why did he like it so much?

´´Well… I guess I like it because it’s personal. I mean, there’s absolutely no one else out there with a birthmark like mine, so I guess it makes me feel unique, and…´´

´´ _..̛.̷a͡nd̵?_ ´´

´´…my sister gave it to me. So in a way, I guess it makes me feel a bit more connected to her.´´ Dipper smiled ´´yeah I… I think that’s it. I just associate it with things I like, you know?´´

´´Wh̸y don’̛t ͏yo̸u ̸use D̷ipp͜er̵ as ̸y̧ou de҉mo͟n͠ na͞m͘e then? ͝If you ͟lik̵e ̶it so m̡uch?!´͜´ That of teeth piped up

´´No! Dipper is human, my demon name has to be different, end of story.´´

´̸´̡I̷ ҉su̕p͟pose̵ w͟ȩ w͝ill jus͞t͝ k̶e̴ep̧ l̢o҉okįn͝g ̡th͢en͠.´͡´ Lolonja said, nodding her head and taking a step forward once more.

´´Yeah,´´ Dipper answered ´´I suppose we will.´´

 

*

 

´´-ABSOLUTE DISGRACE! AND THAT’S NOT EVEN MENTIONING THE TIME IT TOOK FOR YOU TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND ORGANIZE THIS DAMN THING! LORD KNOWS I WOULD NEVER LET _YOU_ WAIT SO LONG TO BE BURIED, IT’S LIKE YOU DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT-´´

´´-OH YEAH! BECAUSE IT’S NOT LIKE WE SPENT THE FIRST WEEKS SEARCHING AND HOPING THAT WE WOULD FIND HIM ALIVE! AND IT’S NOT AS IF THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT TOLD US TO STAY INSIDE OR WHATEVER AND THUS PREVENTING US FROM HOLDING THIS CEREMONY! NO, YOU’RE RIGHT, IT IS _CLEARLY_ JUST ME BEING A BAD PARENT HERE!´´

´´IF YOU WOULD JUST LET ME FINISH-´´

´´NO! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR ACCUSATIONS! MY SON IS _DEAD_ MOM! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE?!´´

´´Now now, let’s calm down for a second, I was just saying that-´´

´´I DON’T CARE! I DON’T… I don’t care, I…´´ Mark collapsed, sobbing, into his mothers arms. Argument forgotten, allowing her to slowly start rubbing circles on his back in an attempt to comfort him. Deep down Mark knew that he didn’t deserve it, that he should be over at the dining table comforting his wife and daughter and not be standing here screaming and weeping like a little baby. Oh well, he would join them soon, right now he just wanted to be here, alone, with mom, hiding his face in her shoulder like he was five years old again and not having to face the rest of the guests there. Technically, Mark could perfectly understand the purpose of meeting up and drinking coffee after a funeral, but right now he just wanted everything to be over so he could go home and get back to bed.

Honestly, fuck this.

´´Feeling better honey?´´

´´…no´´

´´okay, want me to go get your wife?´´

´´no´´

´´okay, it’s gonna be alright, don’t worry.´´

Yeah right! As if anything was ever going to be alright again. It wasn’t as if a big part of Mark’s world had just been ripped out and seemingly literally been burnt to ashes. But right now Mark was to tired to argue, so he just stayed silent.

 

*

 

´´Al͢c̴o̶r̨?´´

 ´´yeah, it’s a star in the big dipper constellation. I thought maybe it would fit because… you know…´´ Dipper awkwardly gestured to his forehead ´´And it has a twin too, just like me! I dunno maybe it’s a little to cheesy but I think it has a nice ring to it.´´

´´ Ce͠r̵ta̸i̶nl̸y ͢mas͡t҉e͢ŗ, e̡sp̴ec͠iall͢y i͞f you wer̢e̵ to ad͞d͠ s͢o͝m̕e f̧or͝m̧ ̕of͡ ̨ti͠tl͞e̢ ̢t͞o ̴it ͜like-´´

´´ Alc̢or t͝he҉ ͠des̴t͢r͏uc͜t̸or!´´

´´-͘aņy ͟t̡it̨l͞e ͏e͡xce҉pt ̛fo͞r tha̷t̨ Gr̡okn̷a̸r.´´

Dipper laughed

´´Still, I’m not entirely sure if another star-themed name is what I want. Maybe it’s not badass enough.´´

´´ I̸ l̸i͜ke ̶t̸h҉e sta͟r theme͝, ҉it ma̕t͏c͞h̷es y̢o̶ur ̴e̵yes!´´

´´My eyes?´´

´´ y͞e̸s… you ͟know ͢w̛ith͏ t̶h̕e g̸l̸owi͟ng͏ a͠n͢d͏ th͜e͘ colo͢ur̨s̛-´´

That of teeth didn’t even get time to finish the sentence before Dipper hurriedly conjured up a mirror in front of him. For a moment he just stood there, stiff as a statue and in total shock as he caught sight of the figure, no the _creature_ in the mirror. It looked like him, but still not. Dipper was already well aware of the claws adorning the tips of his fingers, but what he had _not_ been aware of was the current state of his eyes.

Deep void black pupils and sclera, only separated from each other by glowing golden irises that almost seemed to have something moving in them the longer Dipper stared at them.

These… these couldn’t be his eyes. Dippers eyes were brown, non threatening, _human!_ But these, these were the eyes of a demon.

´´...ma͘s̸t͜e̶r̕?̛´´

Unsteadily, Dipper turned around to face his flock.

´´…how long… how long have I looked like this?´´

´´Fore͏ve̢r?´´

 

´´Forever?´´ Dipper asked in disbelief ´´Forever. Okay that’s… actually no, this is not okay, this is literally the _opposite_ of okay I..I…´´ the sheep all looked at him confused, and Dipper could feel his chest tighten and his hands start to shake as the realization of just what he had become once again settled in ´´I need to be alone. Now, please leave.´´

´´Did̴ ̕we͜ do̷ ͠s̸om̡ething̢ w̡ro҉ng͞ m͞a͠ste̴r?´´

´´Just lea **҉** **v̷e!̶** ´´

the flock didn’t even hesitate before they took of running.

Yay, good job Dipper you scared them away, fan-fucking-tastic! That would have to be a problem for later though, right now, Dipper had bigger issues to deal with. And now, having nobody left to comfort him, Dipper saw no other option then to break down and cry.

 

*

 

For eons she had waited. Lurking in the shadows of her fellow demons, always waiting for the right moment to strike and claim their power as her own. Slowly but steadily she had grown more and more powerful, until she finally felt that she was ready to tackle the biggest fish in the pond. Yes indeed, the one that whose prospering had once inspired and set her out on this journey would finally fall by her hands, and Bill Cipher would perish, at last making her the strongest demon in the world.

So why was it that, after all her careful plotting, this _insignificant worm_ that had once called himself a human managed to beat her to it? Why? He certainly did not deserve the power now bestowed upon him, he didn’t even know how to handle it! For fucks sake, he dressed in _t-shirt and shorts,_ who in their right mind would ever believe that to be worthy of a powerful demon?

Nobody, that was the answer! Nobody, except apparently for himself as well as those pitiful nightmares that now served him.

She would have to do something about this, soon. But no yet. No not yet. Before that she watched him, analyzing his movements, sizing up her prey and fantasizing about what was soon to come. Bills power _would_ be hers.

She just needed to have a little more patience.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zalgo: ´´If that’s what feels right to you master…´´  
> ´´Yes! Yes of course we are! We-´´  
> ´´Do you really want to know what we think?´´  
> ´´Okay well… maybe ‘the destructor’, is a little…you know.´´  
> ´´May I suggest something?´´  
> ´´Why don’t you try to take a step back and reflect upon what you want your name to mean to you? So far all of your suggestions have been based on trying to sound ‘cool’ and ‘badass’, but I wonder if those two qualities are really that important to you, or if there might perhaps be something else that you would rather let your name reflect. Something that’s more you.´´  
> ´´When we first met you, you introduced yourself as Dipper. What is it that makes you like that name so much? Why does it resonate so deeply with you?´´  
> ´´…and?´´  
> ´´Why don’t you use Dipper as you demon name then? If you like it so much?´´  
> ´´I suppose we will just keep looking then.´´´  
> ´´Alcor?´´  
> ´´Certainly master, especially if you were to add some form of title to it like-´´  
> ´´Alcor the destructor!´´  
> ´´-any title except for that Groknar.´´  
> ´´I like the start theme, it matches your eyes!´´  
> ´´yes… you know with the glowing and the colors-´´  
> ´´…master?´´  
> ´´Forever?´´  
> ´´Did we do something wrong master?´´  
> ´´leave!´´


End file.
